Refrigerating apparatus



w. s. GIBBS, JR., ET AL 'Spt. 12, 1933.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed July 8, 1931 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 p 1933- w. ,s. GIBBS, JR., El AL I 1,926,719

R'EFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jul -8, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented, Sept. 12, 1933 1,926,719 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Winfield S. Gibbs, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., and Howard B. Lukens, Woodbury, N. J., assignors to American Engineering Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 8, 1931. Serial No. 549,548

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerating apparatus, and has for a principal object the provision of a highly efficient, simply constructed cooling unit of a character adapted to replace to advantage the cooling coils of refrigerating systems.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the stated character in the form of a standardized unit of novel form which is adapted for use individually or in association with one or more like units to provide the necessary refrigeration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerating unit of the stated character so constructed as tov afford a relatively short gas travel and having a correspondingly relatively rapid heat dissipation factor.

A still further object is to provide means for compensating uneven expansions and contractions in the structure of the unitto avoid damage from that cause.

A still further object is to provide a refrigerating unit adapted for immersion in a cooling bath and when so immersed for circulation therethrough of a fluid to .be cooled, whereby a highly eflicient transfer of heat from the said fluid to the cooling medium is obtained.

The invention further resides in certain novel and advantageous structural features and details hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the at tached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a unit made in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the unit; I

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an assembly of units :howing the preferred method of interconnec- Fig. 4 is an end view of the assembly illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional viewsimilar to Fig. 2 but illustrating a preferred construction;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 illustrating further embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is an end elevational view of a unit illustrating a detailed modification within the scope of the invention, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating one preferred method of connecting the units in series with the grids placed end to end.

With reference to the drawings, our device in a desirable form comprises a double-walled preferably cylindrical casing 1, said walls being joined together at their extremities to form an outer annular chamber 2,01 relatively small capacity,

and an inner chamber 3 the ends of which in the present instance are defined by heads 4 secured in the ends of the casing. One or both of the heads 4 is provided with .a tapped aperture 5 affording access to the inner chamber and noro0 mally closed by plugs 5a. The outer chamber 2 is provided at each end with a pair of ports, 6, 6 and 7, 7, respectively, in the outer casing wall '8, the ports of each pair in the illustrated embodiment being oppositely arranged and pro- 12, preferably of sheet metal of the same charac- 7d ter as the metal usedin the casing walls 8 and 9;" These fins are in close frictional engagement "with the outer surfacepf the wall 8, the joint being such as to provide an unobstructed heatconducting path between the fins and the casing. so

In constructing the device as described above, the outer and inner walls 8 and 9 and the heads 4 may be secured together at their extremities by means of welding, fittings 13, 13 and 14, 14 being welded into apertures in the outer casing wall 8 and defining the ports 6, 6 and 7, 7. These fittings are tapped for reception of pipes 15, plugs 15 or other fittings as the case may be. Prior to the welding in of the fittings 13 and 14, the fins 12 are applied to the outercasing member 8, preferably by means of suitable presses of high power. As shown in Fig. 2, each-of the fins is provided with a central opening defined by a transversely projecting flange 17,, this opening being originally slightly smaller in diameter than one of the ports of the two sets 6 and 7. For dry gas systems, it is preferred to introduce the re-; frigerant at one end through the nether port and to withdraw the gas at the opposite end from an upper port." For flooded systems, the refrigerant may to advantage be introduced into the frigerating system in parallel, the one end of of the interconnected units, the shortest possible bottom of the unit and withdrawn from the top,

or it may be'i'ntroduced in the top at one end and withdrawn from the top at the other end. The others of the ports are in each instance closed by means of the plugs 16. The refrigerant entering, say the lower port 13, expands immediately and rapidly in the enlarged space provided by the recesses 11 in the inner casing wall 9 and passes longitudinally throughthe chamber 2 to the port '7 at the opposite end of the casing, from which it discharges through the pipe 15 connected thereto. Heat is absorbed through the outer casing walls 8 to which it is conducted readily through the heat-conducting fins 12 and through the inner wall 9.

The interior chamber 1 is adapted to receive a suitable brine from which heat is also extracted by the expanded refrigerant passing through the chamber 2, this body of brine in the inner chamber thereby constituting in effect a reservoir for cold which is effective for a given period of time following interruption of the refrigerating cycle. Preferably the brine is such as to freeze at the refrigerated temperatures. In effect, the cold is stored in the body of brine within the inner chamber 3,- which thereby is made to constitute a potential source of refrigeration in the event of interruption of the flow of the refrigerant in the outer chamber, as set forth above.

Where a plurality of the units is required for a desired refrigerating capacity, the units preferably are secured'in banks or sets after the manner illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. It will be noted that the units areconnected in the reeach of the units being connected to the supply pipe 18, and the refrigerant discharging directly from each unit to the return pipe 19. Following introduction of the refrigerant to any one path for the expanded gases to the discharge pipe 19 is provided. Dissipation of heat through the medium of the refrigerant is, therefore, constantly at a maximum, and the efficiency of the assembly iscorrespondingly high. The units may be connected in series if desired, and when so joined in end to end relation, the method shown in Fig. 8 is preferred. In this instance, the two upper and two lower ports of the adjoining units are connected by the pipes 24 and 25 so that ,a

path is'provided for the refrigerant whether in the gaseous or liquid state or in both. Obviously,

other methods of connecting the units in series may be employed without departing from the invention. The unit is adaptedfor use either in a full flooded or dry'gassystem.

A unit made in accordance with our invention preferably. is composed of seamless steel tubing with fins of the samemetal to avoid different coefllcients of expansion and electrolytic action tending to interfere with an emcient heat-conducting joint between the casing members and the fins. The device has an extremely low man-- ufacturing cost and a relatively high refrigerating efficiency. Particular attention directed to the fact that by use of the double-walled casing and the passage of the refrigerant through an annular chamber of relativelysmall capacity rather than through a simple tube,-as has been general practice in the past, the effective refrigerating surface of the casing is made relatively great as compared with the necessarily small quantity of the circulating refrigerant at any moment occupying the chamber 2, and the efficiency is thus relatively high.

In Fig. 5, we have illustrated a preferred form of refrigerating unit made in accordance with .our invention. In this instance, it will be noted 'that the port in the head 4a is relatively large, embracing a major portion of the area of the head. This port is normally 'closed, in the illustrated embodiment, by a socketed screw plug 5b, The construction has a practical advantage in the step of manufacture that involves the immersion of the unit in a galvanizing bath, in that it affords ready admission for the galvanizing fluid to the interior chamber. 3 of the unit and avoids unequal expansions of the outer and inner shells dueto unequal heating in the galvanizing bath. In this embodiment, it will also be noted that we have provided an additional circumferential recess 11a intermediate the ends of the unit in addition to the circumferential depressions 11 opposite the jacket ports. These circumferential recesses 11, in addition to affording a relativelylarge chamber at the said ports for reception of the refrigerating medium, function also as a means for preventing damage to the units due to unequal expansions of the inner and outer shells. The recess 11a affords a further safeguard in' this respect, and one or more may profitably be includedin positions intermediate the ends of the unit. In this instance also, as in the previously described embodiment, the fins 12 are provided at each side with apertures 21 (see Fig. 1) affording a desirable means for suspending the units from a suitable support and providing for insertion oil-l0 reinforcing rods or elements where the fins are described, it has been found that by eliminating 129 the heads 4 or 4a, see Fig. 6, the units described above may be used with great efliciency in the refrigerating of gases or liquids circulated through the units from one end to the other or in which the units are immersed. The double wall construction has a particular utility in this respect, in that it provides for extensive eifectiverefrigerating surfaces for contact with the circulating gases or liquids to be cooled. In all other respects, the unit shown in Fig. previously described.

This same form of unit may be used with high efiiciency to cool a fluid circulated though the annular chamber 2, the unit being immersed in a chilled brine or other cooling medium.

Where the units are required to be mounted in restricted spaces or in close proximity to a wall or partition, the form shown in Fig. '1 will be found of advantage. The fins 12a are in this instance reducedin the vertical dimension pro- 6 is similar to those I effects a considerable economy, in th described, the number of cycles of operation of the unit in any given application and over a given period of time is reduced, this effecting an y in the operating expenses between small limits of variation, to a large extent the ping of the refrigerating required to ma tain a substantially constant temperature. The incorporation-"of e brine has a further utility in systems including units mounted in separat both chambers is controlled by a thermostat mounted in one of the chambers only. chamber in such case has a carry-over effect for the chamber the thermostat where the temperature in the latter chamber tends to rise while the temperature in 'the other chamber remains below the thermostat-actuat- The jacketed form of casing also that as between these two types of refrigerating unit, that made in accordance with our invention aflords device without departure from the principles of the invention.

We claim: 1. A refrigerating unit comprising a plurality of hollow cylindrical casings, adapted for' substantially horizontal installation,'and fittings at the ends of said casings defining intake and discharge ports, different ones of said fittings communicating with upper and lower portions of he casings and extending therefrom in the transverse direction, said fittings being so constructed and arranged that said casings may be connected either in series or in parallel.

2. A refrigerating unit comprising a plurality of hollow-casings, andfittings defining intake and discharge ports therefore, said ports entering on opposite sides of a plane longiintersecting sai v extending from the casings in directions substantially parallel to said plane, said fittings being so constructed and arranged that said casings may be connected either in series or in parallel. 3. A refrigerating unit comprising a pair of cylinders of differing diameters arranged one e chambers within the other and joined at their extremities to form an annular longitudinal chamber, means dium through said chamber, at least one of said ing a circumferential corrugation to compensate for differing longitudinal expansions of said cylinders, and a plurality of projecting fins arranged in longitudinal series on said outer cyl-- inder', a plurality of said fins having apertures in alignment longitudinally of said cylinders for insertion of reinforcing rods.

unit comprising a plurality the cylinders of each pair being arranged one within the other and Joined at their extremities to form an annular longitudinal chamber, the inner cylinder of each pair having a circ erential corrugation to compensate for differing longitudinal expansions of said oyl' ders, a plurality of projectingfins arranged in longitudinal series on the outer cylinder of each pair, fittings defining intake and discharge ports provided on the outer cylinder of each pair, and means for circulating a refrigerating through the annular chamberdefined pa'rs of cylinders, said fittings .being so constructed and arranged that said pairs of cylinders may be connected either in series or in parallel.

5. A casing, fittings defining intake and discharge ports therefor, a plurality of projecting fins arranged in longitu al series on said casing, said fins being provided with a flange which seats tightly against of said casing, and apertures provided insaid fins in alignment longitudinally of said cylinders for insertion of reinforcing rods.

6. A refrigerating unit, comprising a pair of metallic cylinders of diameters arranged one within the other, and joined at their extremities to form an fittings provided on intake and discharge ports, means ing a refrigerating medium through said annular chamber, a series of projecting fins arranged in longitudinal series on said outer cylinde each of said fins being provided ar face of said outer cylinder, being open at the ends, said cylinders andfins being galvanized to prevent the formation of rust thereon, and to maintain intimate contact between the fins and cylinder.

WINFIELD S. GIBBS, JR. HOWARD R. LUKENS.

refrigerating unit, comprising a hollow 1 

